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Many people I have met who believe in God have always identified themselves as being spiritual in the sense they believe in a deity but not any particular religion and do not go to any church. They consider themselves non-religious in the sense they don't follow any proscribed religion. Atheists simply state they do not believe in a deity of any kind.

Why do so many people confuse being non religious with being an atheist. There are many people who are not part of a religion; however, they do believe in god. I assume there would be a separate category for such people.

Why do so many people confuse being non religious with being an atheist. There are many people who are not part of a religion; however, they do believe in god. I assume there would be a separate category for such people.

Why do so many people confuse being non religious with being an atheist. There are many people who are not part of a religion; however, they do believe in god. I assume there would be a separate category for such people.

The irreligious tend to be more the majority than what polls indicate. Based on how one is "measured" as a christian or believer, if you are not following the script of regular church attendance, you are someone just like us.

Where I stay, 78% self identify as Christian. The number of churches in my town can only service <3% of the population. Based on how many actually attend churches regularly, this is likely <2%.

Many folk will say that church attendance is NOT a measure of faith but invariably it does seem this question is posed quite a lot in the US (by what I read here and elsewhere). The only time I ever had to fill in details of religious affiliation was at schools and later when conscripted to the army. The schools had set monthly times for religious teaching by clergy and this was just so teachers knew how to split the kids up. Even based on that in the 70s, the "all the rest" were indeed the majority.

Atheist as a self label carries a lot of imaginary baggage, from not knowing the first thing of religion, to being deluded by satan.

Why do so many people confuse being non religious with being an atheist. There are many people who are not part of a religion; however, they do believe in god. I assume there would be a separate category for such people.

Because religion is what people see. If you don't go to church, mosque, synagogue,etc... , don't openly pray, use religious language, or proselytize, then you look just like a non-theist.

Most of us non-believers are aware that there are generic theists or "spiritual, not religious" types. They just tend not to be offensive, or demand that their beliefs be codified into law, so we don't pay them any mind... There is however, a human tendency to make thing binary. Where I grew up, you were either a Christian or hell-bound, you had to choose Roll Tide or War Eagle (and no cheating and trying to pick Florida State!), you had to be a Republican or a Democrat. Is it any wonder that unfamiliar beliefs tend to get lumped with one side of the us vs them spectrum?

-NoCapo

Atheists many of them do not know the distinction between religion and God.

And there many of them theists who do not know the distinction between religion and God.

When I speak to Christians and Atheist I feel as I am being pressured to pick a side.
I know deep in my heart I believe in God; but, I definitely have issues with religion.
I dont think it is fair that people believe you have to be one or the other.

I am a Christian theist, talk with me about God and His existence or non-existence, I will not pressure you to pick a side, I just want to engage in thinking on reason and intelligence with you.

If you see me to be into pressuring you to pick a side, then just remind me and tell me to cease and desist, and I will thank you for the notice and be guided accordingly.

I think it is kind of a "you are with us or against us kind of thing" with reference to religion.

That is a psychological attitude.

All of us atheists, theists, and whatever ists, we must keep apart from our psychology, and just concentrate on what I might call cognition, taking our mind as a sort of cctv, it sees everything that it can scan on and also sees the connection in everything with everything.

IMO it's the fact that most religious people tend to think in black and white; therefore, it's difficult for them to understand the Idea of not following something or playing for a team. This is also why you'll often here religious people claim that atheism is a religion too. They simply don't understand the concept of not belonging to something. There have been multiple studies that show believers are far more likely to purchase the same brands of products, order the same meals at restaurants or take the same rout home from work every day. These are tell tale signs of followers that don't think outside the box.

Generally speaking, people find it easier when dealing with issues in terms of black or white....... they don't do too well with shades of gray.

That is very correct.

But I think it is possible and really factual that we can say that a person is more black than white or more white than black.

So, how do we determine the being more black or more white with a person?

Here is my idea of a method:

Produce a text from an atheist and one from a theist talking about their respective thinking on non-God or yes-God respectively.

Ask each of them to re-write in not more than 500 words their extant text, then the one say atheist writing more words than the other say theist, to expound their respective no God or yes God, the atheist is more atheistic than theistic; contrariwise, the theist is more theistic than atheistic.

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